Emerald City

Emerald City tells the story of two young men -- each isolated in their own way -- who meet on the back roads of the US/Mexican border where they develop a tentative friendship that gradually becomes more. Featuring a diverse cast and crew (race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability), this was one of the best teams I've ever had the privilege of working with. We had an amazing time filming in and around Potrero, California. Reading David Bobrow's script for Emerald City, I knew it was something special right off. Inspired by his own experience hitchhiking across the US, David set Emerald City against the backdrop of the immigration issues along the US border with Mexico, creating a story of two people coming from completely different perspectives on those issues and yet finding a connection with each other. The politics give way to a story of human connection. As a result, this is one of the most unabashedly romantic films I've every made. The script's overt film references include Wizard of Oz, Almost Famous, and Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, though there are others hidden within the story. Cinematographer Matt Hayward and I wanted to create an image reminiscent of Westerns and other (more modern) stories set in the vast landscapes of the American Southwest. This led to shooting with anamorphic lenses and re-creating the extremely wide aspect ratio Westerns often employed to emphasize the environment. We wanted the film's beginning to emphasize the bleakness each character felt by desaturating the colors and utilizing a sparse sound design. But as the two young men get closer -- to Emerald City and recognizing the depth of their connection -- the images and sound design become more lush, until they find that the feelings of community they seek are within and around them.